Rugby | Chat

Q&A: Brenden Nel

Our senior rugby correspondent Brenden Nel joined us for Q&A session from Wellington on Saturday.

Thanks to all who participated. You can read Brenden's answers to your questions below.

The question and answer session has closed.

Questions and answers

Cheech asked:

Do you think when Hougaard comes on it will be in his favoured position or on the wing? I think as 9 he keeps the opposition on their toes a lot more. Hope Bismarck will get to play more than 20mins? He is too good to play so little.

Brenden answered:

Cheech, I think the situation in the game will determine where he comes on. At least the Bok management have the luxury of making that decision. I'd like to see him on at 9, because if Luke Burgess is on, think he can create a lot of pressure on him, but on the wing is also fine. As for Bismarck, I still believe he should start, he is the form hooker and possibly the best in the world, I agree with you on that one.

Frank Mwaka asked:

Hi Brenden i''am not South african but i''am African great springboks supporter because they really make all African Proud. My question: all the springboks games I watch recently (expect against fidji and namibia) they seem to do well only for 55min and strugle after that it seem they have fitness problem as eddie jones said on one of his blog how are they gonna address that this weekend?and what is saught on that? Thanks for your ansuer Brenden

Brenden answered:

Frank, not sure if I agree with you on that, the bench upped the tempo against Wales and Namibia and made a big difference in those games. This is a World Cup though, and if you let your guard down for a second teams hit back at you. I reckon fitness is not an issue here

kb asked:

do you think P.deV missd a trick nt pickn form players..bismarck over JS and alberts over PS8..who''s th next Bok coach??..finally will we have the quality to counter AGRENTINA''s kicking game!!!

Brenden answered:

KB, In a word yes. Bismarck and Hougaard should have started, Alberts is a 50-50 call for me though. Next Bok coach - your guess is as good as mine. Believe me we'll have a few surprises before he is named. Last question - one game at a time mate, lets worry about Australia first

Voelu Mimoeri asked:

Does you thinks the De Villiers is liking too much for Joe Smith?

Brenden answered:

Voelu, is that Peter or Jean De Villiers? And Joe Smith? Does he play for the Lions? If you're talking about John Smit, the answer is probably yes.

Leon Jordan asked:

Hi Brenden, looking forward to reading your views later on. With regards to our big game tomorrow, and tears for sure for either one of the two teams, do you think that Snorre will retain his position as coach post RWC? Would be great to hear what your thoughts are.

Brenden answered:

Leon, if he wins the World Cup, he will probably have that option. It hasnt come up yet. But remember anything less than that will be seen as a failure. Tough but fair. Whether he wants more after 4 years is another question.

Cheech asked:

Why do you think the Beast was dropped completely?

Brenden answered:

Unfortunately there are only 22 positions in a rugby squad and I think it was more because they were caught a bit offside against Samoa by going with a 5-2 bench when JP Pietersen got injured. CJ van der Linde can play both sides of the scrum and think that worked in his favour.

yaseen asked:

Hey BrendenJust watched the wales-ireland game, great from a neutrals perspective. Can we see wales going through to the final? They playing much better rugby than france or england at the moment. Could set up a rematch between boks and wales in final. So we can set the record straight and ''dorner'' them

Brenden answered:

Yaseen, definitely, Wales have been a great team in this World Cup. Physically they are right up there and have a great attack and superb defence. They can beat either France or England easily.

Cornel le roux asked:

Good morning Brenden... I think the boks will win tomorrow but my I have two concerns... Pierre spies and Fourie du preez. My questions are: don''t you think to bring Pierre spies on as a impact player rather then start him, I feel that he can do more than just run. My se second question : can we rather use hougard qs sub for du preez. 5 games played and still no improvement... Thank you

Brenden answered:

Cornel, I dont share your concerns. Both are gamebreakers, both can change games in a heartbeat. In big games you need experience and you need big game players. Both will be there tomorrow and be up for it.

Louis asked:

Hi mate. Don''t you think it is time we should go past the 12 channel and use our wings who has serious gas to burn. Thanks. Cheers Louis

Brenden answered:

Louis, unfortunately playoff rugby is about winning rugby. If we have opportunities, sure we will use them. But if not, have no problem wiht 10 man rugby that wins the game. We can play expansive rugby between World Cups. Now its time for winning rugby

Johann Cloete asked:

Hi Brenden, enjoying the goodlife in New-Zealand? Great! Wales showed this morning how strong Group D was, do you agree the result between Wales and Ireland bodes well for the Springboks? Also, regarding the overly structured play used by the Springboks, our Curry Cup coaches are trying to establish phases and then start a structured pattern where fast footed players are pitched against slower ones according to the opposition''s defensive pattern, shouldn''t we develop a nationally used effective playing pattern that way where rugby intelligence is shared?

Brenden answered:

Johan - good life...hehe...if you call driving rain for 6 weeks a good life...I miss the Pretoria sunshine. Anyway, as for your questions. Yes, the Welsh win shows just how good the win against them was, and how tough Pool D is. As for the national way of playing, think that is pipe dreams mate.will never happen

Kennedy asked:

Will B Habana be able to play since he has been out of form from 2009,inspite the fact that he tried to play these past 2 games.

Brenden answered:

As far as we know he will play. How he will play is anyone's guess

NDIPHIWE asked:

hy what do you think about lambie at the back than aplon, your thoughts about de jongh and dnot forget the littke time he playe dand score more than 1 try, bismark and houggard issue?

Brenden answered:

Ndiphiwe, Aplon suffers because of his size, Lambie has a better boot and is safer under the high ball, that's why he is there. He's also a more natural fullback than Aplon. De Jongh's time will come, and he is a real talent. But at this stage, experience is the key. Bismarck and Hougaard should be in the starting line-up

Thando asked:

Hi BrendanPurely as a rugby supporter, with no interest in the result, what do you think the outcome of tomorrow''s game will be? What are your thoughts on the choosing of Morne ahead of Butch, especially when defense in that flyhalf channel will be key?ThanksThando

Brenden answered:

Thando, Its a difficult one, a real 50-50 game, but i obviously hope the boks will shade it. Morne is a points machine, and his boot is more valuable than anything else. He will have to up his defence tomorrow though.

Louw, it depends what you mean. Out of tomorrow's match 22, only Victor, Danie, Gurthro, John and Fourie wont be here. For John, Bismarck is there, Hougaard is there for Fourie while Beast will take over from Gurthro. At lock we may struggle a bit, but I'm sure good young players will come through the ranks.

Jeremy asked:

Hi Brendon, what are the guys 100m stats? Do they post their times? I know Pierre''s is 10.7sec. Is their a minimum for being a Springbok?

Brenden answered:

Jeremy, unfortunately they dont release those to the public, so have no idea.